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[markyboy]

Spent the last couple of days at Lakeside Gardens Resort on St Mary's Lake. Fishing was good, (not great) however it was my first trip there so I am still learning the lay of the land.

After a long sunny summer, there is a lot of weed in anything less than 20 feet of depth and you will spend quite a bit of time getting weed off your lure. You can troll or fish deeper, but for me I didn't catch anything in deep water though I did talk to one guy who had a couple trolling a willow leaf in 50 feet of water.

There we plenty of big perch to be had as long as you didn't mind catching lots of small perch in between the big ones. The perch are greedy so they go after anything: spoons, worms etc. When things got quiet I would anchor the boat and drop a line over the side into about 15ft of water. Found shrimp to be best, given you will miss strikes and lose bait regularly, you can rebait and it's in the water quickly. Caught a couple of bass on shrimp but nothing too big. If you have kids or just want a bit of Fun I would recommend anchoring just off the island and then reel them in, every seventh or eighth hookup will be a big one. Also the big ones tend to be nearer the edges of the weeds where the water transitions to about twenty feet or more.

The trout fishing was a little slow. Caught most of mine trolling a willow leaf close in down the shoreline on the north east side. The water line changes from about thirty feet to ten and I caught quite a few there. Also hooked up the occasional perch here (usually when I got too close to shore) and a couple of decent bass.

The bass fishing was best in the evening. Anchored off the island and landed four bass and two decent sized trout using one of those small spoon/worm jigs. Also landed a couple of bass just in front of the cabins drifting down the lake casting as the sun sets.

The guy a couple of doors down landed a few big trout using a pink roosters tail fished on the far bank across from the cabins. I saw him catch a couple at noon , including a nice three and a half pounder.

Lots of fish in this lake and I'd recommend the trip. There are some very big fish that you can see cruising around but they are hard to catch because of the volume of small fish. That said I feel heading up Merritt way will produce a better trout fishing experience but the fact that you will never be skunked (perch) and the fun of also going after bass makes this really worthwhile. Next time I might try earlier in the season.

[Rodney]

Thanks for the report Mark. I was in fact just thinking about St Mary Lake this week while targeting European perch in Denmark.

What were the size ranges (length) of perch and bass?

The trout fishing in this lake definitely cannot be compared to what lakes in Thompson-Nicola and Cariboo offer, but I like that it is not a monocultured fishery, so much more exciting for both little and big kids.

[RalphH]

Was the lake clear or did it have that dirty brown algae bloom that cuts the visibility down to inches?

[markyboy]

What were the size ranges (length) of perch and bass?

As I told my buddies (after a few beers) the perch was a good 16 inches and the bass a mighty eight pounds.

However between you and me, the biggest perch was around 11 or 12 inches (caught three or four around that size). Smallest perch was about 5 inches with the majority being in the 5 to 8 range.

The biggest bass 15 inches. My landing net is exactly 15 inches and I use this to keep myself honest. Ask me again after a few retellings and I can't guarantee that I give you the same answer The smallest bass was around 10 inches, and most seemed to be about this size.

Was the lake clear or did it have that dirty brown algae bloom that cuts the visibility down to inches?

You could certainly see much more than a few inches. I could see fish down eight to ten feet. When fishing white shrimp for perch, I could make it out [just] in about twelve to fifteen feet of water. There were beds of bright/luminous green algae clumps covering various shallow parts of the lake and in the mornings when the water was flat calm, there was a thin brown bloom on large parts of the water but it was only on the surface and as soon as the calm disappeared it got turned over.

[liketofish]

Are those the yellow perches we see in some of the Canadian fishing shows? How big weight-wise is the average (approx.)? I can't tell from the length because they seem to be flatter body than trout. Also if we rent a cottage there, will the resort provide a boat as part of the rental of the cottage?

[Rodney]

However between you and me, the biggest perch was around 11 or 12 inches (caught three or four around that size). Smallest perch was about 5 inches with the majority being in the 5 to 8 range.

The biggest bass 15 inches. My landing net is exactly 15 inches and I use this to keep myself honest. Ask me again after a few retellings and I can't guarantee that I give you the same answer  The smallest bass was around 10 inches, and most seemed to be about this size.

11, 12 inches is quite big for yellow perch. I don't think I've ever encountered them that big from that lake.

Right now, I am trying to get one of their bigger cousins, European perch/redfin, which can weigh up to a few pounds sometimes.



15 inches is a bit below average for smallmouth bass from that lake (or it could be the new average). When we fished it in 2005/2006, just about all our fish were 15 to 18 inches long.

When we fished it in 2008 and 2010, we still caught fish up to 18 inches long, but there were fewer around (actually, there were fewer bass overall).



Good to hear about the improved water clarity.

[liketofish]

I will probably book a trip next year near the end of May to the lodge there for the anniversary. How is fishing like at that time of the year? Are the perches or bass biting well yet? Have never caught any of the two species. So it will be quite interesting to try for them.